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COMBIFORM:
A CONSOLE FOR THE NEW COMMUNAL CASUAL GAME GENRE
by
Edmond C. Yee
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC SCHOOL OF CINEMATIC ARTS
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF FINE ARTS
(INTERACTIVE MEDIA)
May 2012
Copyright 2012 Edmond C. Yee

Combiform is a novel digital gaming console featuring four combinable handheld controllers. It is a new and unique tangible gaming interface that stresses the importance of co-located, co-attentive social interactions among players. In particular, multiple players may freely combine and lock together their handheld game controllers, thereby creating a very flexible collective and transformable tangible interface. Combiform emphasizes social interaction through controller-to-controller contact. The platform and its 10 games introduce novel, tangible and physical co-attentive experiences that are not found in traditional co-located gaming platforms using mimetic interfaces (e.g. Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Kinect). The project is the first game console especially designed for a new emerging digital game genre – Communal Casual Game. The new game genre captures a perspective of integrating classical folk game design approach with digital elements; a perspective that uses old form of rules to create new types of play.

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COMBIFORM:
A CONSOLE FOR THE NEW COMMUNAL CASUAL GAME GENRE
by
Edmond C. Yee
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC SCHOOL OF CINEMATIC ARTS
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF FINE ARTS
(INTERACTIVE MEDIA)
May 2012
Copyright 2012 Edmond C. Yee